Descent
by ObscureNavyDusk
Summary: A story of princes, dark magic, betrayal and revenge. AU featuring Djinn!Shadow for reasons. To be updated on the 14th and 28th of each month.
1. Prologue

_Welcome to Descent._

_There's a story in itself as to how I came up with this so... Yeah._

_This is the prologue. Future chapters will be somewhat longer in length._

**_Spellings are in British English. This will not change._**

* * *

Prologue

It was far too easy to slip out of the castle. Far too easy, and it made Vio just a little worried - if he could sneak out, who would be able to sneak in? He wasn't worried for himself though, he could defend himself, it was his younger brother - Red - that couldn't. He'd have to have the matter seen to.

That would come later however, Vio needed to leave the castle for a few hours. Slipping out of a window that had been carelessly left open, he landed gracefully on his sandaled feet in the castle gardens, an oasis of green in the desert sands, and set off. Vio adjusted his hooded cloak, making sure that he couldn't be identified at a glance if any of the guards saw him.

After a few minutes of waiting for just the right moment to sneak past guards, hiding behind bushes and casually sauntering past at least one guard who looked like they'd had too much to drink, he reached the gate which led to the small town and the desert beyond.

The only problem of course was the guard - a tall blond, sword sheathed but spear sharp and ready to attack anyone who would try and enter or leave the castle at this point. Blue. Definitely one of the best knights in the kingdom, although his temper occasionally caused problems.

Vio paused, trying to think of how to get round him. He looked around and soon his deep blue eyes caught sight of a vase that should have held some form of flower. It was devoid of such, though, and would make a perfect distraction. Picking it up, Vio threw it as far as he could, making sure it didn't fall anywhere near his path to the gate.

It smashed. Blue jolted and turned towards the sound. He glanced around, before cursing quietly, abandoning his post temporarily in order to investigate. Vio smirked and took his opportunity, sprinting across the courtyard and out of the gate. His pace slowed only once he was well out of the town surrounding the castle and he was deep into the desert. Here he could practice the magic that had always fascinated him. Here nobody would notice him.

* * *

_Hopefully this was an enjoyable read. Chapter One __**should **__be out on the 14th. No sooner though, as this will cause a delay for Chapter Two._


	2. Chapter 1

_This is on time. It's a miracle. _

_I dislike the American English spell checker here. Why is there no option to use a British English one? Thank Nayru for Office I guess._

* * *

Chapter 1

Vio was awoken early the next morning by a hyperactive bundle of energy. His brother, Red, grinned down at him.

"Good morning Vio!" he cried, throwing the blankets off him and plopping himself down on the edge of his bed.

Vio looked back up at him, somewhat irritated. "Some of enjoy our sleep, Red, especially when we don't get much the night before. What ungodly hour is it _this _time?" he asked, sitting up.

The red clad boy pouted, standing up and looking out of the window. "Looks like it's about… Six or seven in the morning," he answered cheerfully.

Vio huffed and grabbed the covers, throwing them back over himself and rolling over. "Too early, come back in a few hours," he muttered.

The younger looked upset, whining, "But Vio! The flowers that Blue – you know, the guard from one of the western kingdoms – brought me are outgrowing their pot and the one I was going to use is broken, I need you to help me find a new one!"

Well, that would explain why that vase had been empty earlier. The taller boy groaned slightly before he replied, "Fine, I'll help you look, on the condition that you don't wake me up so early for at least a week."

He ushered Red out of the room so he could dress himself. Glancing in the mirror, he realised just how exhausted he looked. Staying up so late had really taken its toll. He looked paler than usual and he had dark bags under his eyes. Vio sighed, he looked terrible, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He got dressed, putting on a purple tunic. There was no need to wear anything too regal, there was nothing important scheduled for that day. Despite the relative simplicity of his outfit, Vio soon found himself cursing the sandals he had chosen to wear, the straps difficult to tie.

His younger brother was leant against the wall, pouting when Vio emerged. "If you were struggling with those sandals again, you could always have got one of the servants to do them up for you," he suggested.

"I'm not a child, Red, I can dress myself. And these sandals aren't stupid," Vio replied.

He smirked to himself as Red gasped, "How did you know I was thinking that?"

Vio shrugged before walking past him, "It's a secret to everybody. Anyway, I think you'll find that these sandals are far more flexible than the ones you wear, even if they do take longer to do up. Now, I believe you wanted me to help you find a pot or vase for those flowers?"

"Oh, yes, of course! Where do you think we could find one?" Asked Red, chirpily.

"Well, Red, I think that you would find something designed to hold flowers in the garden," said Vio, but not meanly, despite the obviousness of the answer.

Red laughed a little, evidently realising he had asked a slightly stupid question, before grabbing Vio's left wrist and running off, dragging his unwilling sibling behind him, "Come on then," he chirped.

Red's hand were warm, which wasn't really that unusual seeing as they did live on the outskirts of a desert, but was certainly something Vio always noticed - he'd been told that his own hands were cold as ice.

It was as early as Red had guessed, that much was evident by the lack of servants. The only people that seemed to be awake (other than the two of them) were the guards. Red greeted a few of them by name as he went past, Vio simply nodding in acknowledgement as he realised he didn't even recognise some of the guards, let alone know their names.

He knew one name, at least. A somewhat tired looking Blue attempted to walk past them, only to be captured by Red, who flung his arms around the taller blond. Blue struggled for a moment, a helpless rodent in the clutches of a boa constrictor, before lifting an arm and returning the embrace. Beaming up at him, the younger loosened his grip, allowing his captive to escape.

Vio lifted an eyebrow as Blue's arm lingered around Red's shoulder for a little longer than necessary. Any and all traces of a smile fled the guard's face as he noticed this, and he dropped into a more traditional greeting, bowing politely before speaking, "Good morning, Prince Viol-"

"Vio," corrected the boy, flashing a quick glare at his brother, who looked like he might laugh, "... I take it you've heard about this incident involving a certain vase being smashed last night?"

"Yes, I have. I was actually on shift at the time. Must've fallen of a ledge or something," answered Blue, "Much as I'd love to help, I've just come off said shift and I really need some sleep,"

Vio sighed, "Very well then. Sleep well," he'd honestly hoped that he would have been able to pass on responsibility of Red onto Blue so he could go back to sleep himself, but that wouldn't be entirely fair.

The aforementioned younger sibling waited for the guard to leave before asking, "Um... Vio? How did you know that Blue would know about what happened?"

"I assumed you'd spoken to him already. I'm not awake properly yet, I guess my judgement's a bit clouded," answered the elder, hoping the answer would be acceptable. The last thing he needed was for his own brother to be suspicious of him.

Red didn't look entirely satisfied but didn't question him further, continuing his journey towards the gardens, Vio lingering a moment before following him.

An hour or so later, Red had finally decided on a replacement vase. He was evidently pleased with this, yet Vio was quite the opposite, as he had had to sit through an entire hour of lectures on how to take care of flowers. Normally he was glad to learn new things but there _was _a reason they had gardeners; Vio had never had any interest in plants that existed solely for decorative purposes, medicinal plants were a different story. They served a purpose.

He was just thinking about how much precious water they were (in his opinion) wasting, only half listening to Red's incessant chattering, when their brother, Green rushed up to them, "There you two are! I've been looking for you for the past half an hour!" Said he.

Red stopped talking to launch himself onto Green, who staggered backward a little before gently hugging him back. Vio wondered silently why Green hadn't avoided the attack, Red always attempted to hug the two of them when he saw them, sometimes to disastrous effects.

"What was it you wanted, Green?" questioned the boy in violet once the eldest had recovered from one of Red's rib-crushing 'friendly' hugs, "It must be important if you have been looking for us for so long."

Green looked almost confused, as if he had temporarily forgotten, but soon recovered, "Oh, yes, father said that we need to go and speak to him as soon as possible. I think it's to do with the incident that happened in the town a few days ago," he answered.

"Did they find out who caused the disturbance?" questioned the youngest, eyes wide, slightly worried.

"Maybe. I don't know. Father didn't tell me, he just told me to find you two. It might not even be about that," replied Green, soothingly, "Whatever it is, we should probably head off now - he'll probably be speaking to some of the royal advisors in the throne room."

Vio nodded, standing up and gesturing to Red to follow him and Green. The 'incident' that Green had referred to had occurred last week: some malevolent djinn had attacked some visitors – including Green's fiancée, Zelda - from a foreign land on their way into the town and as it soon came to light that the beings had been deliberately set on them by an unknown person they had been sent home until the perpetrator had been found. It would suffice to say that the oldest prince and the king had not been particularly pleased.

The castle's interior was labyrinthine, a nightmare for guests and new guards, but, having been raised within its walls, the three brothers had no difficulty in navigating its passages. It didn't take them longer than a few minutes to reach the throne room and, like Green had predicted, they were in time to see their father dismissing two of his advisors – a tall red-eyed blond, Sheik, and their cousin: a shorter male (also possessing eyes of a crimson hue) with long lavender hair, Vaati. They bowed respectfully to the three princes as they passed.

The king looked over, smiling as he noticed his sons. "Ah, boys, there you are. I need to tell you something. And yes Green, before you start, it is about the attack last week,"

Glancing at Green, Vio noticed how tensed up he looked. He'd been looking forward to seeing Zelda again for a long time before she was due to arrive and he was furious at whomever had prevented it. He reached out, placing his left hand between his brother's shoulder blades and pressing it in a way that made the tension drain from the other's body.

Green grinned at him appreciatively before he asked their father, "Do you know who did it then?"

The king sighed, lacing his slender fingers together as he spoke, "The knights managed to track down one of the djinn. She'd been freed from the command after completing the task she'd been set and was very cooperative. We've known for a while that the attack was planned, but we didn't realise that it had come from our own nobility. The Lord Ghirahim is next in line to the throne after you and it appears he wants the position – his actions were obviously aimed at Green's fiancée, yet this is likely only the beginning. Unfortunately, he has fled from the area so the knights were not able to apprehend him. As I am worried about all of your safety I am afraid that I will have to restrict some of your freedom. There will be guards positioned around your chambers at night and you may not leave the castle without a knight present."

* * *

_Dear people, djinn/jinn is the plural form of djinni/jinni, which is just (in my opinion) a better word than genie. _

_Vio's going be pissed about not being allowed out of the castle._

_In other news I didn't expect this to be up on time so reviews are like rewards ;)_


	3. Chapter 2

_Hey, this a day late, sorry. I've been a bit stressed, partially because I go back to school soon and partially because of another reason which is quite personal so I don't want to talk about it._

_Staven is Byrne from Spirit Tracks. They're the same character. I'll use the name from the British localisation, thanks._

* * *

Chapter 2

A week. It had been an entire week since the last time Vio had been able to follow his usual routine of sneaking out of the castle every other day. It was more than just frustrating, it was dangerous. Dark magic was inexplicably drawn to itself and this inevitably caused it to rise in dangerous levels if someone who possessed it didn't use it for a period of time, which was part of the reason it was illegal in the first place (the other reason was that it tended to corrupt a person but Vio chose to ignore that particular fact). This was the reason for Vio's night time escapades, he needed to expel the magic in a controlled manner as to avoid hurting anyone and subsequently being executed, or at least exiled. Probably executed, he'd given up on the hope of his father actually caring about him when his mother died.

Vio made an irritated sound at the thought. He was beginning to feel like an animal in a cage. Of course, this simile wasn't quite accurate, a caged animal generally didn't have to deal with its magic rebelling against it and its captor was fully aware of the fact that it was caged.

Regardless, this didn't change the fact that he needed to get out of said metaphorical cage. He felt as if the slightest provocation would cause him to lash out to potentially deadly consequences. This needed, evidently, to be avoided at all costs. He needed to find some way of distracting the guards for long enough to leave but this needed to be done without arousing levels of suspicion that would cause them to check in his quarters for him, only to find him missing from them. It would of course be impossible for him to escape through his window, his rooms were too high up to jump from safely, not to mention the fact that the moat wouldn't be the most pleasant place to land.

'Moat' was of course a bit of a strong term to use at the moment: it was more of a glorified ditch. It was extremely hot during the day at this time (or, well, any time) of the year, so the water was being used for more important purposes. And the gardens, though the king was constantly insisting that they reflected how prosperous the kingdom was, choosing to completely ignore the fact that Vio's pollen allergy meant that he couldn't spend any prolonged amount of time outside without ending up sneezing profusely and his eyes watering so badly he could barely see.

Enough about that. The sharp staccato strikes of boots against stone floors could be heard; the guard was being changed, it was midnight.

An idea struck Vio then. The guard on the first shift had to wait for the second to be within sight before he could take his leave, so if Vio could ensure that the second guard didn't turn up, it would be easier for him to escape the doubtlessly tired first than the well-rested and alert second.

Now, how to pull it off? Any violent method of preventing the second guard appearing would be instantly met with suspicion. Perhaps some form of sleeping draught would be better? If slipped into a drink or food it would simply look like the guard had overslept. He could quite easily find out who was supposed to be on that shift and spike their water, which would make it difficult for them to wake up on time for their shift if consumed before, or would lead to the preferred option of them drinking it during their shift and falling asleep. This way would mean he would have until the morning to perform his normal activities.

However, the plan was only simple once the draught had been acquired. Although they did have them in the castle's infirmary, he'd only manage to get one by faking a bout of insomnia (not exactly difficult seeing as he hadn't slept well in a while, but pretending to have a debilitating disorder for his own gain didn't really appeal to him), not to mention the fact that if it was discovered that he'd been given one on the same night one of his guards had been found unconscious it would be incredibly difficult to make an excuse for. He'd have to make his own, or attain something with similar effects.

Distantly, he could remember one of the gardeners telling his brother about the narcotic properties of a particular plant and why needed to be more careful around it. Suddenly, Vio wished he'd been listening. He'd have to find out in the morning though. It was past midnight and he was exhausted.

When he woke up, the blond was barely more refreshed than he had been the night before, though a little was better than nothing. He dressed quickly (a high-necked grey undershirt under another violet tunic, this one with darker purple patterns on the sleeves). Looking out of his window, he used the sun's position to roughly guess at the time: not quite midday, but about an hour or so before that. Evidently enough, Red had decided not to wake him up this morning, which was a miracle in itself.

He stepped out of his room, immediately addressing the guard, "Good morning, Kafei," this name he knew, as the indigo-haired male spent almost as much time in the castle's library as the prince when he wasn't on duty. "I take it you're the one responsible for guarding my quarters by night?" asked Vio.

"Only for the second shift. Staven has the first," replied Kafei.

"Thank you, I think I can dismiss you now," said Vio.

Vio decided to skip breakfast for the day, instead he was much more focused on managing to locate the plant that he could remember being spoken about. After a moment of thought, he chose to see if his younger brother could remember, hoping to disguise it behind him simply showing an interest in his hobbies.

It was a herculean task to locate his brother, but when he did, Vio wondered why he hadn't looked where he was in the first place. Red was as high as he could get, on the flat roof of one of the castle's towers, looking out over the gardens, the town, the rest of the kingdom and Vio was sure he could see Death Mountain in the distance. Red had a roll of blank parchment and several pencils, apparently attempting to draw the landscape.

He jumped, making an undignified squeak when Vio poked him from behind.

"Dead," was the only thing Vio answered with when he turned around.

Red pouted, folding his arms, "Don't do that Vio! I didn't realise you were there!"

Smirking Vio lunged forward, jabbing him in the ribs, "Dead. Again. You really need to work on your reflexes and your ability to actually be aware of your surroundings,"

The younger yelped at the prod and glared, but it didn't last. He smiled up at his brother before asking, "So, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to spend some time with my brother, is that suddenly a crime?" answered the elder. Inwardly, he knew that Red was going to see right through him and ask-

"Why are you _really _here, Vio?" pressed Red, still smiling but suspicious, "If you wanted to spend time with me you would have wanted to spend time with Green too. You want something."

Inwardly, Vio cursed his brother's intuition but outwardly, he allowed a smile to briefly adorn his features before he voiced a reply, "Well done Red. I was actually thinking about some of the things you were talking about with the gardeners a few days ago. I think they were saying something about how some of the plants were dangerous,"

Despite the topic, Red looked almost excited, "Yes, that's true! Some of the plants could easily kill a _horse. _You need to be really careful even if you do know what you're doing,"

Looking at Red, Vio could tell how much the topic fascinated him and silently vowed to never make an enemy out of him, "The reason I ask, Red, is that I wanted to know what some of them would do to a person and how you could prevent it. As you know, we are potentially in danger," he said.

"Oh, well, there are antidotes to most of the poisons, I think, but there are a few that are still being worked on. There are others that would only kill you in certain higher dosages that are a bit less dangerous. Take Angel's Trumpets for example, the Brugmansia, not the Datura. They normally grow in tropical regions but we have a few at the moment. They're quite pretty, but if you accidently consumed some of it, probably the seeds, you could die, but at a lower level it can be used as a sedative," Red replied, he looked awfully proud of this knowledge and Vio once again found himself promising to never get on his bad side.

That must have been the one Vio remembered being spoken about, and realised that with the name Red had given them, they wouldn't be particularly difficult to identify. However, walking off now would look odd and so he answered the younger blond, "The fact that you seem to have memorised these facts is just a little disturbing. Of course, it may prove useful that you are aware of the dangers and toxicity of such things,"

Red smiled, pleased at the recognition, "I know! If one of you gets poisoned I'll be able to help," he replied, almost too happily, but soon realised what he'd said, "But, don't get poisoned please."

Vio smirked, "I'll endeavour to avoid it. Now, I'm sure you'd like some peace so you can get on with your drawing. I'll be in the library if you need me," He turned on his heel, part of him wishing he had his cloak on so it would swish around his heels for dramatic effect as he did so.

* * *

_I think this is a good enough place to stop._

_I don't really know much about poisonous plants but they are very dangerous and you should not under any circumstances mess with them. Vio and Red are professional fictional characters and only die when the plot makes it necessary. Don't put stuff in people's drinks either. _


	4. Chapter 3

_Sorry about the length of time this took to update. On top of everything else, I wasn't really feeling this chapter so it's short and personally I think it's a bit contrived but I hope you enjoy it anyway._

* * *

Chapter 3

Vio didn't head straight to the library as his last conversation with Red might have implied.

He first headed to the area of the castle that the guards and knights used to store their equipment whilst off duty. A few of them did notice him, politely greeting him, but not questioning his presence. Red did sneak in here looking for Blue often enough for it to seem normal to have at least one of the princes wandering around. It didn't take long to find and 'borrow' one of the standard-issue water canteens, luckily enough, it was already full, he wouldn't have to waste time acquiring water to fill it. For the second time that day, he wished he'd worn his cloak, as he'd be able to hide the canteen in one of its inner pockets. Tucking it into his belt would have to suffice for now.

Having done this. He headed straight to the gardens, deciding to get it over with as soon as possible. He intended to carry out his plan as soon as he could manage, he really needed to get the magic out of his system. It was progressively getting worse, a festering ugly mess balled inside him, he was steadily finding his emotions become less and less easy to control – becoming irritated or angered at even the slightest provocation.

He tried to keep his breathing to a minimum like he normally did when entering the garden, it didn't really prevent his allergies getting to him but it made him feel like he was actually doing something about it. Even though he wasn't.

It couldn't be too difficult to locate the flowers he'd been told about, really. 'Angels Trumpets' was a descriptive term.

Whilst it would certainly be easier to seek out and ask one of the castle's gardeners about the plant, it would only serve to arouse suspicion later. Then again, aimlessly walking around the garden for however long it would take wasn't a particularly appealing concept. The garden wasn't massively large, it was difficult to maintain plants in a desert, even if the castle did have priority for water. This didn't mean they were easy to navigate if you'd never really spent much time in them, and Vio was normally just passing through.

Sighing, the prince began his attempt to locate the plant, sapphire eyes scanning his surroundings methodically. Much as they were certainly beautiful, Vio had never been able to enjoy the carefully arranged displays of flowers and had therefore become quickly uninterested in them. Whenever Red inexplicably thought that it was a good idea to drag him and Green around here, Vio would normally just end up sitting on one of the benches on the outskirts, either reading or quietly laughing at Green's exasperated expression as their younger brother tried to persuade him to do something ridiculous. The last time, Red had made all three of them some form of crown involving woven together flowers and whilst Vio soon was permitted to remove his after quite an awful fit of sneezing, Green had been required to wear his all day and most of the next, to the amusement of everyone who saw him.

Although this memory was nice to reflect on, Vio really did need to complete his objective. After about another half an hour of searching, he laid watering eyes upon a few small trees along the far edge of the garden. Their flowers were white and pendulous, thin where they connected to the branch but opening out at the end – trumpet-like. Vio had no doubt that these were the very flowers he had been seeking. Taking a quick glance to ensure no-one was watching him, he dashed across the garden to stand in front of one of the trees. Even through his almost completely blocked nose, he could smell their strong scent. It honestly made him a little tired (or at least, more so than usual) being in such close proximity to them. Taking the canteen from his belt, he unscrewed the top, and, taking care not to let it touch any more of his skin than necessary, he shook a tiny amount of the pollen into it.

Looking around himself again, the blond tucked the canteen back into his belt, before fleeing the scene hurriedly. He felt horrifically tense and nervous again, knowing that if anyone discovered his plot now, it would be near impossible to explain himself. There wasn't much point in fear now however, if he had been seen, he had been seen and silencing any witnesses could be even more difficult and dangerous than his current objective.

Speaking of said task, he needed to track down a certain guard's possessions and ensure he didn't come across the prince spiking his drink. Vio knew that Kafei would generally spend some of the time he had when off duty in the library, but there was always the chance that he had chosen to visit the kitchens to talk with his girlfriend (Vio had forgotten - or perhaps never bothered to learn - her name. It might have begun with an A). It'd be easiest to head for the library, easier to ensure that he wasn't going anywhere for a while, the blond decided and he really had no business down in the kitchens, whilst he was well known to frequent the library. It was best to keep up outward appearances even if inwardly he felt like trash.

It didn't take long to reach the library. It didn't take long to realise Kafei wasn't there. It would, evidently, look incredibly strange if Vio were to leave so soon after he had entered. Choosing a book at random, he coiled up in a chair near the door so that he would be able to see anyone entering and waited.

Vio barely noticed that he'd skipped two meals, but he doubted he'd be able to eat anyway with the nervousness fluttering away in his stomach and pure darkness creeping into his subconscious thought. It was getting late now and he'd be expected to return to his quarters within the hour. He was honestly just about to get up and just hope for the best when the indigo haired male finally showed up. He didn't notice Vio, so it was relatively easy for the blond to look like his leaving had nothing to do with Kafei's arrival.

For the second time that day, Vio found himself heading to the guards quarters. It was a little more occupied than it had been earlier in the day, as several of the guards were preparing to go on their shift.

It wasn't exactly difficult to locate Kafei's equipment. The man had taken to decorating the majority of it with a Keaton motif for some reason – nobody had ever managed to find out why – making it slightly obvious who it belonged too.

A final glance around proved to him that no-one was watching, so Vio quickly switched Kafei's (thankfully unmarked) canteen with the one in his belt. Having done this, he hurriedly rushed out again, heading directly to his room. He'd just have to wait and hope that his plan was successful.

* * *

_So yeah, we should be back on for regular updates after this. _

_And for the love of Nayru don't put things in people's drinks._


	5. Chapter 4

_Yay for actually on time updates. Having said that, seeing as I'm doing NaNoWriMo next month, I don't know if I'll be successful in uploading then. I'll try, I swear._

_Also, thanks to my guest reviewer, who I can't private message to personally thank because they're not logged in._

* * *

Chapter 4

The wait was horrendous. Vio spent most of the night pacing back and forth across his room. He felt quite ill, knowing that he would have no way of knowing if his plan had failed until it was too late to make a new one and he didn't feel like he could survive another without managing to use up some of the dark magic flowing through him. Normally he'd just read to pass the time but he was completely unable to focus, the words blurring and fading into oblivion. Unsurprisingly, he gave up that almost immediately, returning to pacing and finding various things to waste his time on. Which consisted of pacing, occasionally brushing his hair again and more pacing.

The guards had switched shift just under an hour ago and Vio was wondering just how long it would take before Kafei actually decided that he needed some water.

It was much later than the time he would normally sneak out at and Vio knew that if his plan did not come into motion soon, there would have been virtually no point in executing it. He couldn't let himself focus on it too much though, he was worried enough without widening every gaping flaw in his plan.

He was just about to give up and try and sleep when he heard something. Something that sounded like someone collapsing. Good.

Tentatively, he crept across to his door, opening it slowly. He'd opened it just wide enough to slip out when it met with resistance and he looked down, noticing the guard sprawled across the floor. Vio was about to just walk off and leave him when he had a thought. He crouched down and pressed two fingers to the indigo haired man's neck, checking for a heartbeat. It fluttered weakly under Vio's fingers- he wasn't dead, at least. For a brief moment, the prince had an urge to snuff out the pathetic pulse, but pulled away immediately, refusing to so much as acknowledge the thought.

He needed to leave now. He knew that he was running out of time. Kafei would probably sleep for hours but it didn't change the fact that it would be near impossible for him to sneak back into the castle during daylight, but if he didn't hurry, it would become the only option he had.

Not quite running, but not quite walking either, he began his journey out of the castle. Like normal, he started wondering why this was so easy, one guard outside his room wasn't going to stop anyone particularly determined. It was lucky for the castle's other occupants, he supposed, that he was leaving, rather than entering. Having said that, he would still get into a lot of trouble if he was caught sneaking around so late at night, which coupled with the fact that the guard on his room was currently unconscious, would make explanation out of the question.

Regardless, it was probably a better idea to focus on actually getting out before he crashed into one of the few guards that knew how to do their jobs.

He was about to round another corner when he heard voices. Darting into the shadows, he tried to remain hidden. He needn't have bothered. The two people talking were evidently too interested in the other to notice his presence. Red and Blue walked along the corridor, murmuring quietly to each other.

Vio watched them go past, fists clenched and barely supressing the urge to just attempt to drag them away from each other. Honestly, Red didn't think that anyone knew about the 'secret' relationship he was having with Blue, but it was fairly obvious to anyone with at least half a brain cell. Suffice to say that Vio wasn't expecting it to end well for either of them.

Vio had picked up on it very quickly, the way the two acted around each other was quite pathetic, Blue wouldn't be quite as aggressive and Red would often space out whilst talking about the other. It was far too obvious, the two were going to end up destroying each other.

Once the two were out of sight, Vio resumed his previous escapade, hoping that he wouldn't waste more time having to avoid anyone else. After descending a few flights of stairs, he knew that he was low down enough to be able to lower himself out of an open window without hurting himself, so he kept an eye out for any open ones. Surprisingly, someone had actually decided to close (and apparently lock) them. He'd go find whoever had done it and congratulate them if it hadn't made this a lot more difficult.

He was going to have to leave through the servant's quarters again. The windows he'd been checking were the only ones that looked over the garden and wouldn't land him in the moat. The castle's main entrance was far too well guarded for him to get out through undetected, so that was completely out of the question. His other option wasn't quite as impossible, but would still be fairly difficult- there was always someone up and wandering around in the area of the castle occupied by the servants that didn't live in the town.

Sighing, Vio headed off in the general direction, arms folded and looking generally annoyed about how things had chosen to play out. The other exit just had to be on the other side of the castle, didn't it?

Complaining wasn't going to change anything, however, so he just told the increasingly aggravated thoughts to be quiet before he hit something. Or someone.

Well, that was an out of character thought, to say the least. He hadn't had thoughts like that since before he'd started deliberately using dark magic (the first time he'd done it, it'd been mostly an accident and the only witness he'd had executed last year after they'd threatened to report it) and he knew that most of the cause was the fact that it tended to try and adjust its host slightly – or more commonly, not so slightly - to suit its purposes.

Vio reprimanded himself – becoming distracted wasn't getting him out of the castle and would inevitably lead to him being discovered if he didn't stop. Taking a few deep breaths to try and clear his mind of the metaphorical fog, he remembered to actually put one foot in front of the other and continue walking.

He was close to the servant's quarters when he heard another set of footsteps. Panicked, he looked around himself, soon realising he had absolutely nowhere to hide. Why did this have to happen on the one night where he'd had to take drastic measures to actually get out? He couldn't risk being dragged back to his room by whatever guard it was that had also chosen to be wandering around the corridors at some ridiculous hour at night.

Vio hated having to do this, he really did. He could probably blast enough energy at whoever the other person was to knock them out before they saw him. He wouldn't really have to use dark magic in particular to do it, either. Then again, he might as well use some of it up.

It had never really took much effort to pull off either. Unsuspecting footsteps rounded the corner only to be suddenly knocked back.

Although he had originally intended to run past supposed guard-slash-servant, a sickening crunching sound stopped him in his tracks. Turning back around, he realised that in his general irritation at pretty much everything that had had happened, he'd put far too much power behind the attack. The person's neck was evidently broken and Vio wasn't sure why he even bothered to check for a pulse.

Out of all the people he could have accidentally murdered, it just had to be the king.

* * *

_So that happened._


End file.
